nefs for preserving me from innumerable dangers of body and foul, to which this wretched life, but more particularly by my own youthful rashness and inconfideration, might have exposed me, had not thy Divine Providence interpofed in fuch a wonderful manner, as juftly challenges my deepest admiration and acknowledgment: particularly I am bound to bless thee for fo timely nipping that ambition and vain-glory, which had hurried me through fuch scenes of impiety and hypocrify, and as the most effectual antidote against it, next to thy divine grace, haft brought me not only to prefer, but to delight in a state of obfcurity and lowness of circumftances, as the fureft harbour of peace and fafety; by which, though the little I have left in my poffeffion be dwindled to fo little value as to be but a poor acknowledgement for the fervices which I have received from my friend hereafter named, to whom I can do no less than bequeath it all, yet I hope the will may be accepted for the deed, and that the Divine Providence will fupply to her what is wanting in me. And now, O Father of Mercies, I beseech thee for thy dear Son's fake, fo to direct me by thy grace through all the fu ture concerns of this life, that when, where, or in what manner foever it shall please thee to call me out of it, I may be found ready and willing to return my foul, worthlefs as it is of itself, to thee who gaveft it; and my death, as well as my latter end, may be fuch as may tend all poffible ways to thy glory, the edification of thy church, and my own eternal comfort. And in hopes there is nothing in this my laft will that is not agreeable to thine, I leave it to be executed after my death by my worthy and pious friend Sarah Rewalling, of this parish of St. Luke, in Middlefex, in the manner hereafter mentioned, viz.

I defire that my body, when or wherever I die, may be kept fo long above ground, as decency or conveniency will permit, and afterwards conveyed to the common burying-ground, and there interred in fome obfcure corner of it, without any further ceremony or formality than is ufed to the bodies of the deceafed penfioners where I happen to die, and about the fame time of the day, and that the whole may be performed in the loweft and cheapest manner. And it is my earnest request, that my body be not inclofed in any kind of coffin, but only decently Jaid in what is called a fhell of the lowest value, and without lid or other covering which may hinder the natural earth from covering it all around.

The books relating to the Univerfal History, and belonging to the Proprietors, are to be returned to them according to the true lift of them, which will be found in a blue paper in my account book. All the reft being my own property, together with

4

all

all my houshold goods, wearing apparel, and whatever money fhall be found due to me after my decease, I give and bequeath to my friend Sarah Rewalling above named, together with fuch manufcripts as I had written at different times, and defigned to be made public, if they fhall be deemed worthy of it, they confifting of fundry effays on fome difficult parts of the Old Testa ment, and chiefly written for the ufe of a young Clergyman in the country, and fo unhappily acquainted with that kind of learning, that he was likely to become the butt of his fceptical parishioners, but being, by this means furnished with proper materials, was enabled to turn the tables upon them.

• But the principal manuscript I thought myself in duty bound to leave behind, is a faithful narrative of my education, and the fallies of my wretched youthful years, and the various ways by which I was in fome measure unavoidably led into the base and Thameful impofture of paffing upon the world for a native of Formofa, and a convert to Chriftianity, and backing it with a fictitious account of that ifland, and of my own travels, converfion, &c. all or most of it hatched in my own brain, without regard to truth and honefty. It is true, I have long fince difclaimed even publicly all but the fhame and guilt of that vile impofition, yet as long as I knew there were ftill two editions of that fcandalous romance remaining in England, befides the several verfions it had abroad, I thought it incumbent upon me to undeceive the world, by unravelling that whole mystery of iniquity in a pofthumous work, which would be lefs liable to fufpicion, as the author would be far out of the influence of any finifter motives that might induce him to deviate from the truth. All that I fhall add concerning it is, that it was began above twenty-five years ago with that view, and no other, during a long recefs in the country, accompanied with a threatening difeafe, and fince then continued in my moft serious hours, as any thing new prefented itself; fo that it hath little elfe to recommend itself but its plainnefs and fincerity, except here and there fome useful observations and innuendoes on thofe branches of learning in which I had been concerned, and particularly with fuch excellent improvements as might be made in the method of learning of Hebrew, and in the producing a more perfect body of Univerfal Hiftory, and more anfwerable to its title than that which hath already paffed a fecond edition. And thefe, I thought, might be more deferving a place in that narrative, as the usefulness of them would in a great meafure make amends for the small charge of the whole. If it therefore shall be judged worth printing, I defire it may be fold to the highest bidder, in order to pay my arrears for my lodgings, and to defray my funeral; and I further requeft that it be printed in the plain and undisguised

undifguifed manner in which I have written it, and without alteration or embellifhment. I hope the whole is written in the true, fincere fpirit of a perfon awakened by a miracle of 'mercy, unto a deep fenfe of his folly, guilt, and danger, and is defirous, above all things, to give God the whole glory of fo gracious a change, and to fhew the various steps by which his Divine Providence brought it about. The whole of the account countains fourteen pages of Preface, and about ninetythree more of the said relation, written in my own hand with a proper title, and will be found in the deep drawer on the right hand of my white cabinet. However, if the obfcurity I have lived in, during such a series of years, fhould make it needless to revive a thing in all likelihood fo long fince forgot, I cannot but wish, that fo much of it was published in fome weekly paper, as might inform the world, especially those who have still by them the above-mentioned fabulous account of the Island of Formofa, &c. that I have long fince owned both in converfation and in print, that it was no other than a mere forgery of my own devifing, a fcandalous impofition on the public, and fuch, as I think myself bound to beg God and the world pardon for writing, and have been long fince, as I am to this day, and fhall be as long as I live, heartily forry for, and afhamed of.

These I do hereby folemnly declare and teftify to be my laft Will and Teftament; and in witness thereof have thereto fet my name, on the 23d day of April, in the year of our Lord 1752, O. S. and in the 73d year of my age.

G. Pfalmanazar.

The laft Will and Teftament of G. Pfalmanazar, of Ironmonger-Row, in the Parish of St. Luke, Middlesex, whenever it shall please God to take him out of this world unto himself.

January 1, 1762, being the day of the Circumcifion of our divine Lord, then, bleffed be God, quite found in my mind, though weak in my body, I do ratify and confirm the above particulars of my laft Will made.'

In his Preface, the Author expatiates farther on his design in leaving behind him his genuine memoirs; to which he declares he was folely induced, in order at once to undeceive the world with refpect to that vile and romantic account he formerly gave of himself, and of the island of Formofa, and to make all the amends in his power for that shameful impofition on the public, by this faithful narrative of himself, and of the remarkable accidents of his wretched life.'

The religious education he had happily received during his

tender

tender years, had, he says, made fo ftrong an impreffion upon his mind, that though it did not prove fufficient to preferve him from being hurried by his pallions, into that fcandalous piece of forgery, yet it never failed of making him condemn himfelf, in his more ferious hours, for every step he took towards it; but more particularly for the last and most vile fcene of all, his tended converfion from heathenim to chriftianity: fo that he laboured ever after, under frequent and bitter remorfes, and ftings of confcience.-At length, we are told, the grace of God (which he moft earneftly befought) co-operating with his remorfe of confcience, wrought an effectual change in his heart, removed all his doubts and fears, his difficulties and difcouragements, and finally enabled him to perfevere in his refolution and endeavours to give mankind the most ample fatisfaction in his power, for all the deceit and falfhood by which he had so egregiously imposed on their credulity.

The remainder of his long preface, of 63 pages, is employed in reciting the particulars of his Converfion (after he came to refide in this country) from the Roman Catholic Religion, to that of the Church of England: in which relation, to do him juftice, he fhews the utmoft candour of difpofition, and talks like a man of fenfe, learning, and integrity.

He begins his Narrative with an apology for not giving an account either of his real country or family, or any thing that might caft a reflection upon either.' In respect to his family, his referve might, no doubt, be well excufed; but in regard to his country, we think it was carrying his delicacy very far indeed! However, he might have his reafons, befides what he alleges, as to the aptness of people to cenfure nations or families, for the crimes of private perfons; from the confi deration of which, he fays, he was induced to conceal this circumftance of birth and parentage. The most that he vouchsafes to communicate on this head, is the acknowlegement that of Europe he was not born, nor educated, nor ever travelled; but continued in fome of the fouthern parts of it, till about the fixteenth year of his age, when neceffity obliged him to remove into the more northern ones, tho' never farther northward than the Rhine in Germany, or Yorkshire in England.' This, at leaft, may ferve to convince us, that he was not the famous † wan

out

* As to Germany, the author declares he never faw that country till he was 16, nor England till about 2 or 3 years after.

The vulgar might perhaps be induced to form this conjecture, from his venerable long beard, and fingular garb; befide which he had other peculiarities about him, all calculated to keep up the appearance of a moft myfterious fecrecy: but the general notion that he understood all languages, and had vifited all countries, more especially contributed to prove him the very identical wandering Jew.

Bb

dering

dering few, as fome of his acquaintance, of the wifer sort, used to fufpect.

He purposely mentions his being a native of fome country the fouthern parts of Europe, in order to fet afide a prevailing notion, that he was a German, Swede, or Dane, according to fome; or in the opinion of others, an Englishman, or a Scot.On the whole, we think it not unreasonable to conjecture, with the author of an advertisement prefix'd to this book, that Mr. **** was a Frenchman. One circumftance leading to this conclufion, is, that he fpoke the French language with a purity beyond what is ufual when attained only by grammar, or travel; but with a dash of the Gafcoin dialect: in which he was fo mafterly, that none but those born in the country could equalnone, tho' born there, could excel him. For tho' it may be efteemed but a patois, or jargon, yet foreigners find it impracticable to fpeak it with that propriety, fluency, and vivacity, peculiar to thofe people. And from this we prefume that fome part of Languedoc may lay claim to his birth.'-But there are paffages enough in the Memoirs themselves, to put this matter almost beyond a doubt.

As for my parents and relations, fays he, they were Roman Catholics, and ftrongly biaffed against all Proteftants. My father was of an ancient, but decayed family, and had been obliged to leave my mother before I was five years old, and to live near five hundred miles from her, whilft fhe was left to live and breed me up upon her fmall fortune, without receiving any affiftance from him, his misfortunes having put it quite out of his power to contribute any thing; fo that I was wholly left to her care. However, neither that, nor the narrow nefs of her circumstances, hindered her from giving me the beft education the could, being then her only furviving child. She was a pious good woman in her way, and though I was no fmall favourite of hers, was yet kept with due ftrictnefs whilft I ftaid with her, which was however but a fhort time, and do not remember that I had then any the leaft vicious inclination, nor in all likelihood might have had, had I ftill continued under her wing; whereas through the mismanagement of those first perfons to whofe tuition I was next committed, fuch a wrong foundation was laid, and fo ftrong a biafs given me to vanity and felf-conceit, as proved the unhappy fource of all my fad mifcarriages fince.

One general remark here I cannot avoid making concerning the fchools of the Roman Catholics, viz. that all their ftudents muft learn to read, and even pray, in Latin, before they are capable of understanding one word of it; for this doth but inure

them